Patients with Isolated Focal Right Ventricular Dyskinetic Segments: Toward a Better Understanding of This Cohort

Mohamad Jihad Mansour,Omar Hamoui,Joseph Asmar,Elie Chammas,Wadih Ayoub,Jihad Daher,Wael A. AlJaroudi 한국심초음파학회 2019 Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging (J Cardiovasc Im Vol.27 No.2

BACKGROUND: The 2010 revised Task Force criteria for the diagnosis of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) provided guidance for the classification of patients as definitive, borderline or possible ARVC. However, many patients with clinical suspicion for ARVC have isolated RV dyskinetic segments only and partly meet cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging criteria. This subgroup of patients and the implication of this imaging finding remain not well defined. METHODS: There were 65 consecutive patients with clinical suspicion for ARVC who were referred for CMR between 2015 and 2017. The presence of fatty infiltration and fibrosis were assessed using T2 imaging and myocardial delayed enhancement sequences, respectively. RV wall motions, volumes and ejection fraction (EF) of all patients were re-analysed and quantified. Available data on family history, Holter findings, and electrocardiograms were also reviewed. RESULTS: There were 5 patients (7.7%) that fulfilled major CMR criteria for ARVC: 4 were classified as having definitive ARVC; and 1/5 as borderline. There were 33 patients with no RV dyskinetic segments: none were classified as having definitive or borderline ARVC; 4/33 were classified as possible ARVC, leaving 29/33 as normal or no ARVC. Finally, there were 27 remaining patients (41.5%) with isolated RV dyskinetic segments: 1/27 was classified as definitive ARVC; 4/27 as borderline; 8/27 as possible; leaving 15/27 as indeterminate. Compared to control, those with isolated RV dyskinesia (including the subgroup labelled as indeterminate 15/27) had more abnormal RVEF, larger RV end-diastolic volume index (82 ± 12 mL/m2 vs. 72 ± 12 mL/m2, p-value 0.0127), and a trend for higher odds of dilated RV (odds ratio 3.0 [0.81–11], p-value 0.09). CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with a clinical suspicion for ARVC, almost 40% had isolated focal RV dyskinetic segments with the majority remaining unclassified. This cohort had more RV dilation and abnormal EF compared to control.

Polycythemia Vera Presenting as Left Ventricular Pseudoaneurysm: The Role of Multimodality Imaging

Mansour Mohamad Jihad,Haddoul Ahmad,Ohanian Antranik,El Haj Sleiman Ahmad,Osman Raed,Adhami Atika 아시아심장혈관영상의학회 2019 Cardiovascular Imaging Asia Vol.3 No.2

The association of left ventricular pseudoaneurysm (LVPA) formation to polycythemia vera (PV) is unknown and, to our knowledge, has never been reported. We describe the case of a 58- year-old man with PV who was admitted for acute dyspnea following an inferior myocardial infarction that occurred seven weeks prior to presentation. Multimodality imaging disclosed the presence of an LVPA. The patient refused surgical treatment and was readmitted three months later with acute decompensation. Follow-up imaging revealed increased LVPA. Review of the literature however showed no report of PV presenting as an LVPA that worsened in a follow-up admission. This rare association prompted a definitive diagnosis. In this case, multimodality imaging was crucial to establishing a definitive diagnosis and guiding therapy.

Erratum: Polycythemia Vera Presenting as Left Ventricular Pseudoaneurysm: The Role of Multimodality Imaging

Mansour Mohamad Jihad,Haddoul Ahmad,Ohanian Antranik,El Haj Sleiman Ahmad,Osman Raed,Adhami Atika 아시아심장혈관영상의학회 2019 Cardiovascular Imaging Asia Vol.3 No.3

Cardamonin exerts a protective effect against autophagy and apoptosis in the testicles of diabetic male rats through the expression of Nrf2 via p62-mediated Keap-1 degradation

Shereen M. Samir,Mahmoud Elalfy,Eman Mohamad E. Nashar,Mansour A. Alghamdi,Eman Hamza,Mohamed Saad Serria,Mona G. Elhadidy 대한생리학회-대한약리학회 2021 The Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology Vol.25 No.4

Cardamonin (CARD) is a chalconoid with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, and it is present in several plants. We sought to explore whether CARD exerts any positive effects against hyperglycemia-induced testicular dysfunc-tion caused by type 2 diabetes and aimed to identify its possible intracellular path-ways. Adult male rats were subdivided into six groups: control, CARD, diabetic (DM), DM + glibenclamide (GLIB), DM + CARD and DM + GLIB + CARD. Type 2 DM induced a significant increase in blood glucose and insulin resistance, along with diminished serum insulin, testosterone and gonadotropins levels, which were associated with the impairment of key testicular androgenic enzymes and cellular redox balance. Administration of CARD at a dose of 80 mg/kg for 4 weeks effectively normalized all of these alterations, and the improvement was confirmed by epididymal sperm analysis. After treatment with CARD, the pathological changes in spermatogenic tubules were markedly improved. Significantly, CARD upregulated testicular glucose transporter-8 (GLUT-8) expression and had inhibitory effects on elevated autophagy markers and caspase-3 immunoreactive cells. Furthermore, our results revealed that CARD was able to attenuate damage via activation of Nrf2 through the p62-dependent degradation of testicular anti-Kelch-like ECH-associated protein-1 (Keap-1). In conclusion, this study suggests that CARD provides protection against diabetic stress-mediated testicular damage. The use of CARD with conventional anti-diabetic therapy was associated with improved efficacy compared with conventional therapy alone.

Ultimate Behavior and Design of Cold-Formed Steel Square Hollow Section Members

Xiaopeng Shi,Xin Cheng,Xiaxin Wang,Mohamad Mansour 한국강구조학회 2022 International Journal of Steel Structures Vol.22 No.3

The ultimate behavior and design of cold-formed steel square hollow section (SHS) members are investigated in the present study, with the focus on their local buckling behavior under pure compression and pure bending, as well as combinations of compression and bending. Finite element (FE) models are established and validated against existing experimental data collected from the literatures; the FE models take into account the initial local imperfections, geometric and material nonlinearities, and cold-formed eff ect. Following the validation, the FE models are utilized to perform a series of parametric studies, considering diff erent cross-section width-to-thickness ratios and loading cases. The stress distributions within the critical cross-section of the SHS members under diff erent loading conditions are investigated and an eff ective plastic width method (EPM) is proposed for the determination of the ultimate resistance of SHS in compression and bending. The numerically obtained results are used to assess the accuracy of the existing design rules stipulated in the Chinese and European design codes and the proposed EPM. It is shown that the proposed EPM is able to provide more accurate design predictions in relative to the codifi ed design approaches, owing largely to its rational considerations of the strain hardening, cold-formed eff ect and partial plasticity of the cold-formed SHS members.

Trade-off Between Cost and Safety To Cope with Station Blackout in A PWR in A Deregulated Electricity Market

Ghafour Ahmad Khanbeigi,Gholamreza Jahanfarnia,Naser Mansour Sharifloo,Mohamad Kazem Sheikh-el-Eslami,Kaveh Karimi 대한전기학회 2020 Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology Vol.15 No.5

In this paper a close solution is presented to determine the trade-off between cost and safety to cope with station blackout (SBO) in Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs). To compute the profi t of each generation unit, a Supply Function Equilibrium (SFE) model swhich considers carbon tax is used in a uniform electricity market. A hierarchical heuristic method is applied for decision making on safety improvement of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). In this method the break-even point is used as a criterion to make a decision on comparing cost of safety improvement and profi t of NPP in a deregulated electricity market. This method is applied in a case of adding an Emergency Water Supply (EWS) and an Emergency Diesel Generator (EDG) to a NPP where impacts of its investment cost and its profi t are investigated. The achieved results show that the break-even point of investment cost and net profi t of the NPP by adding the EDG is one month later than NPP with addition of EWS.

Daucus carota Pentane-Based Fractions Suppress Proliferation and Induce Apoptosis in Human Colon Adenocarcinoma HT-29 Cells by Inhibiting the MAPK and PI3K Pathways

Wassim N. Shebaby,K.B. Bodman-Smith,Anthony Mansour,Mohamad Mroueh,Robin I. Taleb,Mirvat El-Sibai,Costantine F. Daher 한국식품영양과학회 2015 Journal of medicinal food Vol.18 No.7

Daucus carota L. ssp. carota (Apiacea, wild carrot, Queen Anne’s lace) has been used in folk medicine throughout the world and recently was shown to possess anticancer and antioxidant activities. This study aims to determine the anticancer activity of the pentane fraction (F1) and the 1:1 pentane:diethyl ether fraction (F2) of the Daucus Carota oil extract (DCOE) against human colon adenocarcinoma cell lines (HT-29 and Caco-2). Treatment of cells with various concentrations of F1 or F2 fractions produced a dose-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation. Flow cytometric analysis indicated that both fractions induced sub-G1 phase accumulation and increased apoptotic cell death. Western blot revealed the activation of caspase-3, PARP cleavage, and a considerable increase in Bax and p53 levels, and a decrease in Bcl-2 level. Treatment of HT-29 cells with either fraction markedly decreased the levels of both phosphorylated Erk and Akt. Furthermore, the combined treatment of F1 or F2 with wortmannin showed no added inhibition of cell survival suggesting an effect of F1 or F2 through the phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway. This study proposes that DCOE fractions (F1 and F2) inhibit cell proliferation by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in HT-29 cells through the suppression of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/Erk and PI3K/Akt pathways.

Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cerebral Venous Thrombosis and Mortality

Thanh N. Nguyen,Muhammad M. Qureshi,Piers Klein,Hiroshi Yamagami,Mohamad Abdalkader,Robert Mikulik,Anvitha Sathya,Ossama Yassin Mansour,Anna Czlonkowska,Hannah Lo,Thalia S. Field,Andreas Charidimou,So 대한뇌졸중학회 2022 Journal of stroke Vol.24 No.2

Background and Purpose Recent studies suggested an increased incidence of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We evaluated the volume of CVT hospitalization and in-hospital mortality during the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the preceding year. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional retrospective study of 171 stroke centers from 49 countries. We recorded COVID-19 admission volumes, CVT hospitalization, and CVT in-hospital mortality from January 1, 2019, to May 31, 2021. CVT diagnoses were identified by International Classification of Disease-10 (ICD-10) codes or stroke databases. We additionally sought to compare the same metrics in the first 5 months of 2021 compared to the corresponding months in 2019 and 2020 (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04934020). Results There were 2,313 CVT admissions across the 1-year pre-pandemic (2019) and pandemic year (2020); no differences in CVT volume or CVT mortality were observed. During the first 5 months of 2021, there was an increase in CVT volumes compared to 2019 (27.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 24.2 to 32.0; P<0.0001) and 2020 (41.4%; 95% CI, 37.0 to 46.0; P<0.0001). A COVID-19 diagnosis was present in 7.6% (132/1,738) of CVT hospitalizations. CVT was present in 0.04% (103/292,080) of COVID-19 hospitalizations. During the first pandemic year, CVT mortality was higher in patients who were COVID positive compared to COVID negative patients (8/53 [15.0%] vs. 41/910 [4.5%], P=0.004). There was an increase in CVT mortality during the first 5 months of pandemic years 2020 and 2021 compared to the first 5 months of the pre-pandemic year 2019 (2019 vs. 2020: 2.26% vs. 4.74%, P=0.05; 2019 vs. 2021: 2.26% vs. 4.99%, P=0.03). In the first 5 months of 2021, there were 26 cases of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), resulting in six deaths. Conclusions During the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic, CVT hospitalization volume and CVT in-hospital mortality did not change compared to the prior year. COVID-19 diagnosis was associated with higher CVT in-hospital mortality. During the first 5 months of 2021, there was an increase in CVT hospitalization volume and increase in CVT-related mortality, partially attributable to VITT.